Living Beneath the Taintclouds I Call It Home
by Mizuti Zurak
Summary: Living in solitude beneath the dark clouds of poison is what the  Children of the Earth desire, and all have to follow. But one young sorcerer  is tempted to leave the barren wasteland of Duhr when the Empire resurrects an old mission, and a godcraft.
1. Prologue

1.

"...M..iz...uti..."

"...Mizuti..."

"Mizuti...!"

A forceful shove of hands were pressed upon Mizuti's shoulder, causing her whole body to jump in fright. "Mizuti! Goddamn it! Wake up!" A deep voice roared in anger and irritation.

Mizuti gingerly wiped the dried clumps of crust from out of her eyes, wincing when her shaky fingers poked her iris. She lowered her hand to look at a very agitated man. "What? What could you possibly want?" Mizuti whispered, creating a visor out of her hand to shield her from the blaring streaks of light cascading down from her recently opened window.

The man, who was Mizuti's best friend, named Kee, wiped away a stray piece of flaming red hair from Mizuti's face, feeling her forehead tighten from his touch. "The Great Kamroh has requested the village to his throne, he says that he has important news" Kee said, reaching for the deep brown nose of his mask to stroke it lightly as if to symbolize thought. Kee's mask was unlike anyone else's in the village, mainly because it was a hand-me-down from his father, but also because it was forged by the ancient Wizards of Old, making it look more stoic and impenetrable. The rest of the villagers, however, liked to make their mask's a representation of human emotions, and many of them were...questionable.

Mizuti slovenly re-arranged the black nylon face mask that stuck to her face like a thick layer of sweat, making her skin feel drenched. It was mandatory to wear full-face fabric masks when you weren't wearing a clay mask; to keep your privacy safe when you couldn't wear a giant piece of clay on your face, like while sleeping, or showering.

"Kamroh never calls meetings at an early hour...it must be an emergency" Mizuti said pushing herself up from her bed, quickly grabbing a blanket once she realized that she wasn't wearing any pants.

Kee chuckled, respectfully turning away from his half-naked friend. "Thats why we need to hurry, because I have a feeling that its about the recent re-raising of the islands or the new emperor" He said lowly, taking in a large breath.

Mizuti reached for her mask, letting the blanket tumbling to her ankles. "It was a shame that the islands couldn't get along well enough in order for them to stay on the ground- well, _we_ are still on the ground, but you know what I mean" Mizuti said tucking her hair into a green colored hood, getting flustered when the knots in her hair got caught in the coarse fabric.

Kee crossed his arms, tapping his foot lightly in anticipation on the black tile. "I just can't believe that after all of that work that you- and that pompous blue haired prick- did totally went to waste! I mean, I understand that everyone has a different outlook and personalities, but it didn't need to be fixed by undoing everything that you did-"

Mizuti cut Kee off with a huff of air. "Don't get so worked up, what happened _ happened" _She said, slipping the black nylon face mask off of her sticky and fairly sweaty face, tossing it aside with ease. "I just... I just don't know how Rodolfo got his hands on a head of a godcraft... those things- even when disembodied- have a preposterous amount of power" Mizuti said putting on her clay mask, which she soon found to be freezing cold

"I heard some couple who live in that weird place, Mira, gave it to him. They were said to be Melodia's parents, but I thought that they died a long time ago" Kee said, putting his restless hands on the desk in front of him, leaning on one hip.

Mizuti shrugged as she started to put on her usual signature(as the villagers called it) dress, the puffiness of it all was irritating for her to put on. "I don't really care what happened to them, but all I know is that the head was still active and alive when the couple gave it to Rodolfo. It sparks a theory that its body is somewhere out there" Mizuti spoke in a devious tone, as she usually did when there was something to meddle in.

Kee whirled around, his impatience at its climax. "Lets go! The Great Kamroh is waiting!" He yelled, tossing Mizuti her triangle toed shoes. He watched Mizuti fumble with the skirt of her dress, even though she had put it on about a thousand times.

Putting on the last accessories, Mizuti sat on her bed to finally put on her shoes(which barely even fit her feet). "I know!" She yelled back, shoving her giant feet into the small blocks of wood. Even though she was boarding on being seventeen, Mizuti still chose to wear her same adornments and clothes, as if to bring back simpler times when she traveled with Kalas and his companions, a point in time she missed greatly.

When she was finally done, Mizuti summoned her magic and floated into air, her feet about a good foot off of the ground. Even with the magic of levitation, she still wasn't as tall as Kee; who always towered over her like the Brier Tower from ancient times in Hassaleh. "I'm ready!" Mizuti said enthusiastically, reaching for her chakram that hung on a Rudra's horn next to her flame ice mirror.

Kee smiled beneath his mask before turning on his heels and heading for the door. "You still keep those old things from two years ago?" He asked walking onward, wanting to make it to Kamroh's before his parents killed him for being late.

Mizuti shrugged, her dress sleeves make an unpleasant crinkling sound. "Kalas told me I could keep it, and thats a step up for someone as greedy as him. Plus, he said that the same couple from Mira who had the godcrafts head gave it to him" She said rushing after Kee, who was already out the door.

Kee crossed his arms and he rounded the corner to the main stairs of Gemma, which were quite a height to climb for those who didn't float. "What happened to Kalas and his cohorts anyway? They just up and disappeared" Kee said holding the front door to Kamroh's throne open, waiting for Mizuti to go in first.

Mizuti stepped into the small quarters, wanting to avoid Kee's question entirely. It was a touchy subject, for the plain fact that they meant so much to her- but ever since the islands were re-raised into the sky again, nobody ever visited Mizuti. At all. "L-lets... go find Mother and Father" She choked out, starting to feel the lump in her throat when she thought about her past adventures.

Kee grabbed Mizuti's shoulder roughly, causing her to jump out of her skin. "Is something wrong?" He asked consolingly, turning her body to face his.

Mizuti shook her head so lightly that it was almost dismissible as a twitch. "No" She whispered, pulling out of Kee's grip and walking on. It was useless to try to get something out of Mizuti, she was so set in stone and had a strong willed mind that couldn't be easily stretched.

Before Kee could make another statement, Kamroh had crawled his way up the throne and sat down with a thud, silencing the room. The wiggling arms and feet of the throne were distracting, causing most of the villagers eyes to wander around the room.

"_Ahem"_ Kamroh gurgled, shifting in his seat uncomfortably. He took in a deep breath, as if to ease his mind from the troubling parasite that dwelled in his conscious. "Attention people of Duhr!" He began, his voice not matching the gleeful expression of his mask, "I appreciate you all coming to my domain at this early hour, but I'm afraid that the news I'm about to share with you will be nothing short of devastating" Kamroh rubbed his shoulders eagerly, the anxiety taking him down slowly. "U-uh... I-I would l-like to a-address this i-issue through the w-word of Algorab's v-very own, chief Krumly!" He said shakily, stepping down from his throne sloppily. He slipped and fell down the small pair of stairs before he ran out of the room with his hand on his stomach.

Sounds of gagging and wheezing came soon after.

As if not phased by Kamroh's performance, chief Krumly stood untouched in front of the throne, arms crossed tightly. "Please excuse Kamroh, he's... been having a hard time _coping _with this situation" Krumly said mockingly, his hands tightening around his thin arms.

Pacing in a small circle around some of the villagers, Krumly stroked his chin, pondering on how to break the news. "What he was trying to say was..." He tapped his head lightly. "Something very near and dear to us has been stolen" He said shrugging into a wall and frowning beneath his mask, hoping that someone understood.

The whole room was still. No one spoke. No one got it. _Dammit._ Krumly thought, swallowing hard and long before raising his hands to the sky. "T-the..." He breathed a long breath. "The godcrafts head has been stolen from us" Krumly said, slowly lowering his hands.

The crowd made a confused sound, people shuffled around asking each other, "_What?_" _"What does he mean?_" No one seemed to be frantic, but this was not the news that he dreaded to speak. It was...

"The head that Rodolfo gave us... well...The emperor stole it... and he has re-attached the head of the wicked godcraft to its former body...he is threatening us with it," A voice gurgled from behind a door that was barely ajar. Kamroh. "H-he... wants the most powerful wizard in this village... or he'll kill us" Kamroh choked out, stepping into the room with one foot as if it was blistering hot lava. "He also want's to resurrect an old mission from about twenty years ago... I … don't remember the name" Kamroh whispered, his head dropping.

Krumly jumped back, almost in sync with the gasps and shrieks of the surprised villagers. "K-Kamroh? You didn't tell me about that last part!" He yelled, knocking back the villagers ferociously and greedily as he bolted to Kamroh. "The Empire has much stronger weaponry now! And if they get a hold on our most power wizard-!"

"T**-**they could manipulate everyone and everything on the islands" Kamroh adjusted his mask calmly, keeling over lightly when his stomach growled. "The emperor wants to go back to the war of the gods and change the path of time, so that Wiseman never died"

The crowd gasped loudly, a couple of people even starting to cry in fright.

"If they want to do that...they'll have to..." Krumly turned on his heel's to face the crowd, his shoulders still and proud, as if to hide his own fright.

Kamroh put a hand on Krumly's shoulder, squeezing it lightly. "They'll have to link the power of each island... and you know the rest" He hinted, trying not to alert the rest of the villagers who remained calm.

Krumly's body and head shot up, his arms outstretched in shock as he screamed at the top of his lungs, "They want to resurrect Promachination!"

_"Very discrete Krumly..."_

_**Author's Note:**_

_**So here's the prologue of my newest Fan Fiction! If you have not played Baten Katios 1 or 2 and you plan to, beware of spoilers. **_

_**I will be going on a trip to NC for about 3 weeks, so I won't be updating until I get back, but I will be trying to push both stories along before I go. Don't worry, I'm still doing Hidden, even though I havent updated it in a while.**_

_Send me your thoughts and critiques! I love hearing feedback from you guys! :D_

_**-Mizuti Zurak**  
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	2. Chapter One

"So, what _is_ this pro-mach-i-nation shit that Krumly was talking about? And why was he so disturbed by it?" Mizuti asked, sitting herself down on the front main steps outside the throne room. She dangled her feet lazily off the sides, gaining the concern of Kee, who was never a big fan of Mizuti's daredevil-esque tactics.

"You shouldn't be so close to the edge, Mizuti. You could fall, and break an ankle!" Kee said softly, gently guiding her away from the edge.

Mizuti fought back, swinging her arms and legs to ward off the overly protective shell of a man. She planted herself firmly to her spot. "You need to stop worrying about me, Kee- I swear, sometimes you forget that I can _float. FLOAT_" Mizuti exaggerated with her hands, taking in a deep breath. "Can we please focus on the more serious matter here?"

Kee frowned and kneeled beside her, his back up against hers. "Well, for starters, I can tell you one thing: _I_ don't know what promachination is, and I'm sure that the only people who _can_ would be Krumly and Kamroh, of whom I _know_ won't divulge any details about it" He said, shrugging his shoulders.

_Typical, typical, Kee. _Mizuti thought, smiling to herself. _Giving up before the fun starts._ She laughed quietly, peeking over her shoulder to catch a glimpes of Kee's exposed skin. _He was basically the "rational" one of us two, the person who killed all the fun because it was "dangerous" or "could kill you"- you know, stupid stuff. He was the one who told me not to venture out to the floating islands three years ago, because he was afraid I might get captured, or lost. -Oh, and for the record, I didn't get lost, I just got...Re-routed._

Mizuti knocked on her clay mask lightly, soon regreting the action as a ferocious headache invaded her train of thought. "So, they said twenty years" She croaked, craddling her head inbetween her knees.

Kee tilted his head back, gazing up into black abyss that the people of Duhr called a _sky._ "Well," He breathed, taking in the deep colors of purple and blue, "Almost everyone who currently lives in Duhr are young," Kee sighed, feeling nostalgic towards the past life he and others used to share, "And since the islands rose, all of the elders chose to live in Anuenue" Kee thought aloud, awkwardly reaching back to grab Mizuti's gloved hand. He squeezed it lightly. "If we... uh... traveled... _together..._ to the other continents, we could ask the elders-"

Mizuti stood up violently, ripping her hand out of Kee's with a tremendious amount of force."I GOT IT!" She exclaimed whirling around to face Kee, her crazed expression hidden beneath her mask. "Gibari! Gibari! GIBARI!" Mizuti thundered down the main stairs, almost falling over on the turn to her house. "Gibari is like...! SUPER OLD! WE CAN TALK TO HIM!" She roared, stumbling into her house as if she were intoxicated.

Kee shook his head lightly, standing up from his crouched position. He had recognized that tone in her voice, the voice that she always used when she was about to do something absurd- and this wasn't just _absurd_ absurd, this was _Mi__zuti_ absurd.

The absurdness had hit its peak(At least, Kee would like to think so) about three years ago, when Mizuti had ran into his house with great excitment in her voice, the excitement that would lead one to believe that she had done something to save the world. But instead, it was an outright outrageous idea to travel through the Trail of Souls to "check out", as she put it, the world outside Duhr. Of course, Kee was completely against it, being that he did not want to lose his best friend to something so silly- but to his dismay, she went anyways. "And she ended up saving the world" Kee breathed, patting the dirt off of his shins and knees. "Maybe... maybe... I _should_ stop worrying about her. She seems to be growing into a responsible young woman, " He blushed, "Despite what others may say"_  
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"KEE!" Mizuti shouted, her words still completely audible even through the thick wooden doors. "KEEEEEEE!"

"I-I'm coming!" Kee studdered, tripping down the stairs like the insane klutz he was. It didn't help in the slightest that his shoes were three sizes too big, thanks to his father who had literally FORCED him to wear hand-me-downs.

Before Kee could even put his hand on the knob to open the door, Mizuti swung it open with haste, yanking him into her house. "OK! So I've got it AALLLLL figured out" She sang, kicking the door shut behind Kee. "We can take the next liner to Diadem, then ask Gibari about what happened twenty years ago!" Mizuti shouted, jumping up and down like a small child about to receive dessert. "Its perfect! The Great Mizuti will save the world! Round two!"

Kee placed his hands on Mizuti's shoulders to still her, accidentally grabbing innapropriate parts in the process. "I-I hate to break it to you, but there _aren't_ any liners routing from here to Diadem" This was his only saving grace to keep her from thinking so irrationally.

Mizuti struggled out of his grip, wiggling madly. "No no no! There is an imperial ship coming in from Diadem! Remember? They wanted to examine Capella's liquid rubbery floor stuff!" Mizuti was estatic, her feelings almost seemed to be seeping out of her pores and onto the floor.

"B-b-but...! They won't ferry us! Its an imperial ship after all" Kee choked out as Mizuti's body slowly made its way towards his. Being socially awkward towards your best friend was something that Kee was a victim of, VERY much to his displeasure.

Mizuti flicked his mask with her fingers, making a small _'ow!' _noise before speaking. "Ever heard of a _stowaway_?" She giggled, wrapping her arms around his neck, letting her feet touch the ground so she could dangle off of him lazily.

"N-no! We can't!" Kee exclaimed, already feeling defeated by her incessant insanity.

Mizuti swung herself back and forth as if she were playing on a swing, almost knocking Kee off of his feet. "Puuuuh-lease?" She begged, slowly backing him away from the door by bringing his mask close to hers. She spun him around after a few steps and pushed him onto her bed. "C'mon, Kee. Didn't you say to me that you wanted to go on an adventure? That you wanted to do something to be remembered by?"

Kee made a stressed face and lay down on the bed with a sigh, stroking the nose of his mask again. "Mizuti, I told you that when I was ten. Obviously, that statement doesn't ring true now that I'm older and better capable of realizing whats possible and whats just downright insane!" Kee rolled onto his stomach, burying his face into her pillows. Why did the world start having problems _now_ of all times?

"Then I'll go alone" Mizuti said, turning around to grab a cloth to clean her chakram with. "I mean, I've done it before, so who says I can't do it again?" The tone is her voice seemed to be calm, not angry, as Kee had expected. This _was_ however, the second time(Second, third...eighth- its all the same... right?) he had told her that he did not want to accompany her on a dangerous journey. It was beginning to feel a bit pathetic on Kee's part, he was a year older than her, but yet he still would coward away from things that Mizuti would take head-on.

His manhood was at stake here, dammit!

"I-uh...maybe... I should... come with" Kee murmured under his breath, a part of him hoping that Mizuti didn't hear. Its not that he didn't want to go... its just... he didn't want to go.

Mizuti perked up, grabbing a small sack to throw some undergarments into. "Really? Are you sure you're not just saying that? Because if memory serves-"

"Ok!" Kee almost yelled. "I'll go! Without any fuss!" He stood up, seeing stars for a few seconds before grabbing onto the beds wooden frame. "I'll use my fathers katana that he found near Algorab. Even though I may not be able to use it, I'm coming anyways! I won't leave you again!" He exclaimed, grabbing the sack out of Mizuti's hands. "And if we're going to be sneaking onto an imperial ship, its best not carry anything that could be dropped" Kee threw the half-full sack onto the bed and grabbed for Mizuti's hand. "Lets go, the liner will be here soon" He demanded, shocking even himself at how assertive he was being.

Mizuti giggled, squeezing his hand in her own. "Wow! Kee... I haven't seen you get this fired up since that attractive man from Mira visited me and gave me a 'private magic lesson'!"

Kee made a face under his mask that he was damn sure GLAD Mizuti couldn't see. "Yeah. Lets not talk about that, ok?" He grimaced as her noticed her starting to reminisce about that *ahem* "magic lesson" that he was about one hundred percent sure was just a little flirting session, where and that narcissistic philandering- *ahem* _Its not jealousy, I was just concerned!... Shut up!_

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><p><strong>KeexMizuti? Nahhh, Kee is just friendzoned for life!<strong>_  
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**In all seriousness though, I really do like this pairing BECAUSE of how oblivious Mizuti is to Kee's affections. And of course, I know that that will make exellent comedy material!  
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**This chapter was just kind of getting things started, so I apologize if it is a bit boring, but later parts will be more interesting! I swear!  
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